Apparatus and method for high-throughput and flexible digital printing

ABSTRACT

A digital printing system for producing prints in response to input digital images includes a digital printer and a plurality of computer processors. The plurality of computer processors includes one or more image-rendering units for rendering the input digital images to generate rendered digital images, wherein the image rendering is independent of specific characteristics of the digital printer. The plurality of computer processors further includes one or more image processors for processing the rendered digital images in accordance with one or more specific characteristics of the digital printer. The processed images are subsequently input to the digital printer to produce the prints. The computer processors can be dynamically assigned to be the image-rendering units or the image processors.

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED INVENTIONS

The present application is a continuation application of and claims priority to commonly assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/446,375 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,391,528), titled “Apparatus and method for high-throughput and flexible digital printing”, filed May 23, 2003, the disclosures of which is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to the field of digital printing, and more specifically to an apparatus, architecture and method for efficient printing image prints using digital image data.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For many years, photographs were produced in an analog process based on silver-halide chemistry. An image was captured by exposing a photo-sensitive film to a scene by an optical system in a camera. The photo-sensitive material coated on the film includes silver halide emulsions. The silver halide emulsions can capture photons and record a latent image corresponding to the captured image. The exposed photo-sensitive film was chemically developed to convert the latent image into a dye image on the film. A photo-sensitive paper was in turn exposed to the dye image on the film. A photographic print is finally obtained after the exposed paper is processed. As with other systems, photography can benefit from digital techniques applied to various aspects of the process. Image data, captured by a digital camera or digitized from a reflective print or a film by a scanner, can be transmitted anywhere in the world almost instantaneously and then stored on mass storage devices. Multiple copies can be easily made and stored at different locations. The image data can be manipulated using image-processing software.

As well known in the photographic industry, it is desirable for the photographic prints to have the look and feel of the conventional silver halide based photographic prints, even if the images are captured in a digital process. To fulfill this need, the digital images can be digitally exposed on a photographic paper and subsequently developed, bleach/fixed, and washed in the conventional photographic chemical processes. Such produced photographic prints have equal image quality and the same look and feel as the conventional photographs for viewing and sharing.

The process for generating photographic prints includes a number of different steps. Image data are often compressed in the digital cameras. To generate a print of such compressed images, one must uncompress the data and perform image processing on the uncompressed image data. The image processing operations can include tone or color adjustment, neutral balance, and image enhancement. Additional image design and text information may also be added to the digital image. The image data is then converted into an image exposure pattern to expose a photosensitive material coated on a substrate to form a latent image. The latent image is converted to form a dye image when the photosensitive material is processed. Information may be printed on the back of the prints. The prints are cut and packaged before shipping. Any of these processes can become a bottleneck that limits the overall speed of the system.

Thus, there is a need for a method and apparatus that can efficiently reproduce photographic prints in response to input digital images.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of the present invention provides a digital printing system for producing prints in response to input digital images, comprising:

a) a digital printer for producing prints;

b) a plurality of computer processors, including

-   -   i) one or more image-rendering units for rendering the input         digital images to generate rendered digital images, wherein the         image rendering is independent of specific characteristics of         the digital printer; and     -   ii) one or more image processors for processing the rendered         digital images in accordance with one or more specific         characteristics of the digital printer, such processed images         being subsequently used by the digital printer to produce the         prints, wherein the plurality of computer processors can be         dynamically assigned to be the image-rendering unit or the image         processor.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a method for a digital printing system for producing prints in response to input digital images, comprising:

a) a plurality of digital printers that are distributed at two or more locations;

b) a plurality of computer processors, including

-   -   i) one or more image-rendering units for rendering the input         digital images to generate rendered digital images, wherein the         image rendering is independent of specific characteristics of         the digital printer; and     -   ii) one or more image processors for processing the rendered         digital images in accordance with one or more specific         characteristics of the digital printer, such processed images         being subsequently used by the digital printer to produce the         prints, wherein the plurality of computer processors can be         dynamically assigned to be the image-rendering unit or the image         processor.

An advantage of the present invention is that it provides a high-throughput digital printing system that can fully utilize the maximum intrinsic speeds of the digital printers within the digital printing system. The digital images are rendered independent of the printer devices and processed specific to the printer devices so that the digital images are prepared to be in the ready-to-print states prior to the printing operations.

Other advantages of the present invention include the following. The architecture of the rendering system is compatible with low-cost off-the-shelf computers, resulting in high price/performance computing. It is flexible, robust, and scalable to any printing throughputs and printer types. Furthermore, the present invention provides a flexible digital printing system that is suitable for the centralized and distributed printing. The distributions of the image rendering system can be tailored to the distributions of the digital printers, the data transmission rates, and the schedules of the various operations related to digital printing. The system throughput is optimized by the flexibility of dynamic assignments of image rendering, image processing, the printing jobs to distributed computer processors and digital printers.

Still another advantage of the present invention is that it provides an efficient digital printing system that includes a image rendering system that can dynamically adjust processing resources in response to the number of digital images assigned to be rendered independent of the printer devices and the number of digital images assigned to be processed specific to the printer devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a shows a block diagram in accordance to one embodiment of the printing system of the present invention.

FIG. 1 b is a block diagram showing details of the rendering system 120 of FIG. 1 a.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram in accordance to another embodiment of the printing system of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram in accordance to yet another embodiment of the printing system of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. It is understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

FIG. 1 a shows an embodiment of the present invention. The digital printing system 100 includes an image archive 111 where the digital images are stored in the long-term base. The digital images can be captured by digital cameras by customers and sent to a photo service provider, such as Shutterfly, Inc, based at Redwood City, Calif., or a retail location. The digital images can also be digitized from photographic films after the images are captured on the film and the films are chemically processed. The customer can submit orders for producing image-based products using the digital images. In the present invention, image-based products include photographic prints, greeting cards, greeting cards, photo books and albums, poster images, framed photo prints, photo calendars, photo books, photo T-shirt, photo coffee mugs, CDs or DVDs containing recorded images, mouse pads, key-chains, or any other type of photo gift or photo novelty items. An order of image-based product may include a combination of different image-based products, for example, 4 copies of a 4″×6″ prints based on one digital image, a personalized photo calendar based on 13 digital images (for the cover and the 12 months), and a photo birthday card base on another digital image. The order information submitted by the customers is stored in an order database 112. In addition, the rendering or processing status, the product types, the shipping methods and priorities of the print jobs are also stored at the order database 112.

The digital printing system 100 further includes a scheduler 115, an image rendering system 120, one or more digital printers such as one or more digital minilab printers 141, one or more digital roll-to-roll photographic printers 142, and one or more digital presses 143, and line controllers 131,132,133 respectively in connection with each digital printer (141,142,143). The image rendering system 120 includes one or more image rendering units 121, an image cache 122, and one or more image processors 123. The digital printing system 100 can also include other types of digital printers such as thermal dye sublimation printers and electrographic (or laser) printers. Typically, it is desirable for a line controller to be located close to its associated digital printing equipment so it is easier for the operator to monitor the status of the printing jobs on the line controller. The various printing equipment and their associated line controllers can be distributed at one central location (i.e. at a central lab), or at one or more remote locations relative to the image archive 111, the order database 112, or the scheduler 115.

In the present invention, the term “photographic printer” refers to a printer that receives digital images and produces dye images on a photosensitive material such as photographic paper. An example of the photographic printers is the digital minilab printer 141 described above. Examples of the digital minilab printers 141 compatible with the present invention include Fuji Frontier Digital Minilab printers, Noritsu's digital minilab printers, Kodak's Digital Lab System (DLS), Agfa D-Lab Minilab printers, and so on. Another type of photographic printers is the digital roll-to-roll photographic printers as exemplified by Gretag FastPrint printer, Kodak's I-Lab Central Lab printer, and Agfa's d-print.20 digital high-speed printer. These photographic printers typically include an exposure unit, one or more chemical processing unit, one or more back printing units, and one or more cutting and packaging units. The digital roll-to-roll photographic printers normally receive large rolls of unexposed photographic paper in light-sealed magazines. The paper rolls are cut at the cutting and packaging units after exposure, chemical processing, and backprinting. Details about the digital roll-to-roll photographic printers are disclosed in the commonly assigned and above referenced U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/871,022, filed on May 31, 2000, titled “Apparatus, Architecture, and Method for High Speed Printing”, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

Digital presses are typically based on 4-color (Y,M,C,K) offset printing engines. In contrast to the photographic printers that develop dye images on pre-sensitized photograph media, the digital presses print images by transferring toners or inks on to substrates. Examples of the digital presses include HP Indigo 3000 digital printing press, Xerox's DocuColor printers, and NexPress 2100.

The information about orders by the customers is stored in the order database 112. The scheduler 115 retrieves the order information from the order database 113, and organizes the orders into printing jobs. The priorities of the printing jobs may depend on a number of factors as defined by a predetermined set of rules, such as, the time when the job order was received, the shipping method, and any special timelines when the products are to be used (e.g. holiday presents or greeting cards before the holidays). Each order may contain a plurality of printing jobs. For example, the order cited above may include three printing jobs: one having 4 4″×6″ prints, another job having a personalized photo calendar, and a third job including a photo birthday card. The scheduler 115 then sends information about the printing jobs and their sequence to the image rendering system 120.

A detailed block diagram of the image rendering system 120 is shown in FIG. 1 b. In one embodiment of the present invention, the image rendering system 120 includes a plurality of computer devices connected in a computer network such as a local area network (LAN) or the Internet. The image rendering system 120 includes a render controller 124, and an image cache 122, a plurality of computer processors 126A,125B, . . . 126H, 126I, 126J,1 . . . and 126X that can be dynamically and automatically assigned to be the image rendering units 121 or the image processors 123. As described below, the render controller 124, the image cache 122 and the computer processors 126 can be distributed flexibly on the network for maximizing efficiency. In some embodiments, various devices in the image rendering system 120 uses a simple XML/URL based API (extended markup language/universal resource locator), and file based (NFS) and URL-based output. The architecture of the rendering system 120 can be built using low-cost off-the-shelf computers resulting in high price/performance computing. It is flexible, robust, and scalable to any printing throughputs and printer types of the digital printing system 100.

An advantage of the digital printing system 100 in the present invention is that it maximizes the overall throughput of the digital printing system 100. A key benefit of digital image printing is to allow images to be customized in many ways that cannot be easily achieved by the traditional photography. The digital image printing can be customized according to the image properties, the properties of the image capture devices, the image content, the specific users, the specific image-based products in the orders, and specific printing equipment used to produce the products. The increased demand for image customization has greatly increased the load on image rendering and image processing before the printing of the digital images. The image rendering and image processing operations are often the bottleneck to the digital printing system 100 if they are conducted in synchronization with the printing operations. The image-rendering system 120 allows image rendering and image processing to be performed prior to the printing operation so that ready-to-print image data is prepared before the printers begin the printing operations. The throughput of each digital printer can therefore be fully utilized.

The processing of digital images includes printer-independent image rendering and printer-dependent image processing respectively handled by the image rendering units 121 or the image processors 123. The printer-independent image rendering includes image decompression, tone calibration, color correction, white balance, sharpening, image enhancement, image cropping, compositing image borders and/or image effects, and image re-sampling. The printer-independent rendering may also produce the images for the header prints for the printing jobs. The printer-dependent image processing includes color or tone calibrations of the printers, color mapping, image formatting, and optionally formatting print jobs for the printers, etc.

The image-rendering operations are printer independent and can be conducted before the printing jobs are assigned to specific printers. In accordance to the present invention, the image rendering operations begin at the image rendering units 121 once the printing job information is received from the scheduler 115. The rendered images are stored in the image cache 122. The status of the rendered images and printed jobs are updated at the order database 112. The image processing operations on the other hand are printer dependent, which are conducted after a printer has been assigned to print the printing jobs associated with the digital images.

The render controller 124 manages the image rendering system 120 to maximize its image rendering/processing efficiencies. The rendering controller 122 regularly records the requests for image rendering and image processing and determines the appropriate resources for each type of operations. For example, more computer processors (126A-H) will be automatically assigned to be the image-rendering units 121 than to be the image processors 123 if the number of scheduled image-rendering jobs is higher than the number of requested image-processing jobs. On the other hand, more computer processors (126I-X) are automatically assigned to be the image processors 123 than assigned to be the image-rendering units 121 if the number of requested image-processing jobs is higher than the number of scheduled image-rendering jobs.

Upon receiving the printing job information from the scheduler 115, the image rendering units 121 (i.e. the computer processors 126A,126B . . . 126H that are assigned to be the image rendering unit 121) fetch from the image archive 111 the digital images to be used in the printing jobs. The printer-independent image rendering is conducted. The rendered digital images are locally stored in the image cache 122 to minimize the delay in retrieving the images for the subsequent image processing. The status and the information of the rendered printing jobs are updated and stored at the order database 112. The information includes product types, shipping method, and priorities, etc.

Each of the line controllers 131-133 manages the printing jobs for the respective digital minilab printer 141, the digital roll-to-roll photographic printer 142, and digital press 143. When a printer is first turned on, its associated line controller (131, 132, or 133) sends an inquiry to the order database 112 for the status and the information of the rendered printing jobs stored in the image cache, including the information about orders of the product types that the printer is ready to print. In accordance to another embodiment of the present invention, the inquiries about the status and the information of the rendered printing jobs stored in the image cache can also be made by the line controllers to the schedule 115.

After the information of the rendered print jobs of the correct product types is received by the line controller, the line controller (131,132 or 133) sends a request to the image rendering system 120 (the render controller 124). The request to the image rendering system 120 specifies the product type that the printer is ready to print. For example, a digital minilab printer can at each time print one or two of the print formats such as 4″×6″, 5″×7″, 8″×10″ and so on. A digital press may be able to print greeting cards, calendars, and so on.

The digital printers are typically calibrated at least once a day. The calibration data (typically in the form of LUT's, ICC profiles, etc) are sent from the line controllers to be stored in the image cache 122 in the image render system 120. Other printer specific information such as printing resolution, orientation, the number of colors (RGB vs. YMCK) is also stored in the image cache 122.

After receiving the printing requests from the line controllers 131-133, the image render controller 124 searches the rendered images stored in the image cache 122 for appropriate product types as requested by the line controller. The rendered digital images of the product types that match the requested product type are sequenced in accordance to the priorities of the jobs/orders. A batch of these matched print jobs and the printer specific properties (e.g. calibration data) will be sent to the image processors 123 for the printer-dependent image processing. The image processing of the rendered images are conducted on the image processor 1261,126J-126X. The processed and ready-to-print digital images are automatically sent to the line controller that made the request, or sent directly to the associated digital printing equipment. The line controller stores a batch of printing jobs each containing one or more ready-to-print images specific to the printer. The printing operation is ready to begin. As the images are printed, the list of ready-to-print images may become shorter. The line controller (131-133) can send a new request to image render system when the number of ready-to-print images reaches a minimum threshold.

The devices in the render system 120 can be distributed in different configurations. FIG. 2 illustrates another embodiment of the render system in accordance to the present invention. The printing equipment 251-253 are remotely located relative the image archive 211, the order database 212, and the scheduler 215. The printer-independent image rendering operations are conducted on the image-rendering unit 221 and stored on the image cache 222 after the printing jobs are prepared by the scheduler. The image processors 231-233 are distributed with each group of line controllers 241-243 and digital printing equipment 251-253. The printer-dependent image processing operations occur on the image processors next to the digital printing equipment 251-253.

While the general sequence of the various pre-print operations are similar to those described above in relation to FIGS. 1 a and 1 b, the printing architecture in FIG. 2 is particularly optimal for the data transfer rate considerations. The processed digital images output of the image processor 231-233 are often in the raw image format and very large in image sizes (e.g. more than 6 MB for a 4″×6″ print at 300 dpi printing resolution). These processed digital images may thus require considerable time for data transfer over the computer network, especially for transfers to remote locations where the digital printing equipment (251-253) are distributed. In contrast, the rendered digital images can be compressed (e.g. in JPEG format) and can be relatively small in image size (e.g. 0.5 MB per image). The architecture shown in FIG. 2 keeps the data transfer among remote locations to small image sizes. The data transfer of large image files sizes between the image processors 231-233 and the line controller 241-243 are conducted in a high-speed Location Area network (LAN) such as a GigaBit Ethernet and optical fiber connection. The high local data transfer rates ensures that the data transfer keeps up with the printing rate of the printing equipment and that the data transfer does not become a bottleneck to the overall printing system 200.

The architecture in FIG. 2 is also compatible with data transfer over memory media between the central location (where the image rendering units are location) and the printer locations (where the digital printing equipment are located). Rather than storing on image cache 222, the rendered digital images can be stored on CD or DVDs and carried by an operator to the printer locations. The rendered images stored on the memory media will be processed and printed at the printer location. The communication to the order database is optional. This mode of operation can be beneficial when a network connection or a file transfer protocol is not established between the central location and the distributed locations like the situation between the photo service provider and a short-term printer partner.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the image render system in accordance with the present invention. The printing system 300 includes a combination of centrally located printing equipment 351,352 and associated line controllers 341,342, and distributed printing equipment 353 and line controller 343. The image rendering systems 320 and 325 can be tailored to suit the needs of both the centrally located and distributed printing equipment. The image render system 320 includes centrally located image rendering unit 321 and image processors 331,332. The image rendering system 325 is completely remotely distributed next to the remote printing equipment 353. In one aspect, the architecture shown in FIG. 3 is a hybrid of the structures shown in FIG. 1 a and FIG. 2. The sequence of pre-print operations is also approximately the combination of the operations described in relations to FIG. 1 a, FIG. 1 b, and FIG. 2.

It is understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. Many other embodiments will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. 

1-21. (canceled)
 22. A method for digital printing comprising: receiving input digital images for making prints; scheduling the prints to be made by a first digital printer located at a first site or a second digital printer located at a second site; rendering a first image in the input digital images to generate a first rendered digital image without using a first printing resolution of the first digital printer; processing the first rendered digital image in accordance with the first printing resolution of the first digital printer and to produce a first processed digital image; producing a first print by the first digital printer in response to the first processed digital image; rendering a second image in the input digital image to generate a second rendered digital image without using a second printing resolution of the second digital printer; processing the second rendered digital image in accordance with the second printing resolution of the second digital printer and to produce a second processed digital image; and producing a second print by the second digital printer in response to the second processed digital image wherein the input digital images are received from a location remote to the first site and the second site.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first image is rendered without using color or tone calibration of the first digital printer.
 24. The method of claim 22, wherein the first rendered digital image is processed in accordance with color or tone calibration of the first digital printer.
 25. The method of claim 22, further comprising store the input digital images by an image archive.
 26. The method of claim 22, further comprising storing the first rendered digital images before the step of processing the first rendered digital image.
 27. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of rendering the first image comprises an image operation selected from the group consisting of color and tone calibration, sharpening, white balance, or adding a border pattern to the first image.
 28. The method of claim 22, further comprising receiving order information related to making the prints based on the input digital images.
 29. The method of claim 22, wherein the step of producing a first print by the first digital printer comprises printing a dye image an ink image or a toner image on a substrate.
 30. A method for digital printing, comprising: receiving input digital images for making prints; scheduling the prints to be made by a first digital printer located or a second digital printer; rendering a first image in the input digital images to generate a first rendered digital image without using a first printing resolution of the first digital printer; processing the first rendered digital image in accordance with the first printing resolution of the first digital printer and to produce a first processed digital image; producing a first print by the first digital printer in response to the first processed digital image, wherein the first printer is configured to print a toner image on a substrate; rendering a second image in the input digital image to generate a second rendered digital image without using a second printing resolution of the second digital printer; processing the second rendered digital image in accordance with the second printing resolution of the second digital printer and to produce a second processed digital image; and producing a second print by the second digital printer in response to the second processed digital image, wherein the second printer is configured to print dye image on a substrate, wherein the input digital images are received from a location remote to the first printer and the second printer wherein the first printing resolution is different from the second printing resolution.
 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the first image is rendered without using color or tone calibration of the first digital printer.
 32. The method of claim 30, wherein the first rendered digital image is processed in accordance with color or tone calibration of the first digital printer.
 33. The method of claim 30, further comprising storing the first rendered digital images before the step of processing the first rendered digital image.
 34. The method of claim 30, wherein the step of rendering the first image comprises an image operation selected from the group consisting of color and tone calibration, sharpening, white balance, or adding a border pattern to the first image.
 35. The method of claim 30, further comprising receiving order information related to making the prints based on the input digital images. 